The Tyrant Master Huang

To the west of the village stood a small earthen-walled courtyard.

Two steel forks and several rope snares stood in the corner. This was a hunter's household.

The oil lamp cast shadows onto the window paper. The man leaned against the headboard while the woman opened a chest and took something out.

"Husband, I'll go to Pingding City tomorrow to find a physician."

"This silver hairpin is an heirloom of the Wang family. You've been married into the family for ten years, and I haven't given you a single decent piece of jewelry. How can we use it... Cough, cough..."

Before he could finish, the man began coughing violently.

The woman patted his back and choked out, "Which is more important, the item or the person? If your wound isn't treated, and something happens to you, how will the children and I survive? How will this family carry on?"

Despair filled the man's voice. "It's all because I'm useless. I'm sorry to you, and I'm sorry to Liyu."

The woman was silent for a long while before saying bleakly, "This is fate. People can't fight fate. Liyu didn't believe that. He wanted to go out and make his way in the martial world, and just when things were starting to look up... he still lost to fate. In the end, Liyu never leaped through Dragon Gate."

"It's all because I'm useless. Liyu left, and we couldn't even keep the Wang family's ancestral home. Even my younger siblings..."

"Husband, let it go! We won't fight anymore. Heaven sees all, and good and evil will receive their due. The Huang family will get what they deserve. We'll raise this child to adulthood. At least that will preserve my brother's bloodline."

The man's coughing never stopped. Because they had no money to hire a physician, the wound on his leg had already festered.

A figure vaulted over the earthen wall and landed in the courtyard.

He strode forward, kicked open the wooden door, and rushed inside.

The woman stared in terror at the raised steel blade and immediately picked up the two children, who were still asleep.

"Who are you?" Li Hu asked in a trembling voice. He had a vague idea who it might be, but he still clung to his final hope.

The black-clad, masked man said, "Master Huang sent me to take the lives of your entire family. Li Hu, wrongs have their source and debts have their debtor. When you reach the Netherworld, remember not to give the wrong name."

Hearing the name "Master Huang," the woman was both frightened and furious. "We already gave the land deed to the Huang family. What more does he want?"

The crippled man struggled to sit up and shielded his wife and children behind him.

If his leg hadn't been broken, he could still have picked up a steel fork and fought the man. Now, he could barely stand and had no power to resist at all.

But even if he had to die, how could he bear to let his wife, children, and underage nephew die horribly beneath the blade as well?

"Hero, hero, I was the one who went to Master Huang's home and argued with him. I was the one who offended him. Kill me—kill me and spare the woman and children, all right? This has nothing to do with them. Please show mercy and stay your hand. If I die beneath your blade, I won't blame you."

The masked man sneered. "Li Hu, a good man and fine hunter known throughout the surrounding villages. Aren't you a tough one? Weren't you going to report Master Huang to the Cloud Water Hall of the Sun Moon Divine Cult? Now you know how to beg for mercy? Then why did you stick your neck out in the first place? Master Huang said that if you fail to uproot the weeds, they'll grow back and cause trouble. He's suffered once and won't suffer a second time."

Wang Meiduo held the two children tightly in her arms, tears streaming from her eyes. "When Liyu returned, you deceived him with your smooth words, and he didn't even pursue Huang Wencai's theft of the Wang family's ancestral property. Now that he's died outside, why... why must you go this far?"

"As expected of Wang Liyu's elder sister. You really do have some insight. You're right. When Wang Liyu became a banner lord of the Sun Moon Divine Cult and returned, Master Huang was terrified during those few days. He was even preparing to pack up his valuables and flee. Who would've thought Wang Liyu would be so easy to fool? Hahaha..."

Wang Meiduo shouted angrily, "Is there no law or justice in this world?"

The black-clad, masked man laughed arrogantly. "In Meixi Village, Master Huang is the law and the justice. Are you only learning that today?"

The woman pointed at the masked man and cursed, "You'll get what you deserve! The Huang family will get what they deserve too..."

Seeing that she was around thirty, dressed in a plain cloth skirt and hairpin, with a somewhat haggard face that still retained some beauty, the masked man's heart heated up when he noticed her fierce temperament. She must have her own special flavor.

"Fine. I'll kill your husband first, then listen to you speak at leisure. We can have a long conversation tonight."

A flash of cold light swept past, and the steel blade was about to fall.

Clang!

Metal struck metal.

The steel blade was instantly knocked flying and landed on the ground.

The masked man's palm went numb, and immense force drove him back repeatedly. First, he saw a simple, unadorned black sword flash past. Then a young man appeared in the room like a ghost, standing beside him and staring at him with eyes so cold they seemed to regard him as a corpse.

The masked man asked in terror, "You... are you human or a ghost?"

How could there be such a fast sword and such swift movement? He had once joined a martial arts school and learned some basic boxing, kicking, and staff techniques. That was how Master Huang had taken him on as the chief guard.

But he knew that beneath the young man's sword, he wouldn't even have a chance to resist.

The man said softly, "I'm human. But you're about to become a ghost."

Li Hu had already closed his eyes and awaited death. Suddenly, another person appeared in the room, sword in hand, seemingly opposed to the killer sent by the Huang family. A glimmer of hope arose in his heart.

Wang Meiduo, meanwhile, stared at the young swordsman's back, feeling that it looked strangely familiar.

The young man raised the black sword and rested it against the masked man's neck.

"I ask. You answer."

The masked man immediately surrendered and knelt, begging, "I'll tell you everything I know. Great hero, please spare my life."

"What happened to the three houses belonging to Wang Liyu's family?"

"Master Huang ordered people to level them. At the time, the villagers said Wang Liyu had become successful because his ancestors had chosen an auspicious site with good feng shui. Huang... Huang Wencai took an interest in it and wanted to claim it for himself, so the feng shui would benefit the Huang family's descendants."

"What about Wang Liyu's wife?"

"She's dead. But... I didn't kill her. Huang Wencai wanted to marry her as his seventh concubine. She refused and struck her head against something herself. Her body was buried on Plum Ridge."

"How many guards does the Huang family have now?"

"Fifteen or sixteen guards. They all know some martial arts. Great hero, I can lead the way. I can even tell you where the Huang family keeps its gold and valuables. Spare my life, and I'll definitely be useful to you."

"Where is Master Huang tonight?"

"Three li outside the village, beside Plum Blossom Stream, there's a manor. Master Huang is there, and all the guards are in the manor too. Great hero, even two fists can't beat four hands. I can lure the guards out one by one and let you kill them. Then attacking the manor will be easy."

The masked man was clever. He guessed that the young man either had a grudge against the Huang family or had received a favor from the Wang family. Either way, the local tyrant Master Huang of Meixi Village had provoked a huge problem. The Huang family's days of throwing its weight around were likely coming to an end.

As he secretly observed the young man, he quietly slipped a hand into his sleeve.

"You may go."

"Great hero, you're letting me go?"

"Why aren't you getting lost?"

The masked man had just walked back from the gates of hell and was overjoyed. He thanked the young man repeatedly, then hurried outside.

Zhang Yu stepped forward twice, hooked the iron blade off the ground, and kicked it away.

Pfft!

The man had barely run out of the door when he stopped. Looking down, he saw the blade's tip had broken through the flesh of his chest and abdomen and pierced out, like the scarlet tongue of a venomous snake.

He didn't even feel any pain. It was as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant. The dagger hidden in his sleeve fell out, and his body collapsed onto the ground.

He had killed many people, but this was the first time he experienced being killed.